Effective Ways To Build Your Business

Budget seems a great place to start. Having built and owned highly successful small businesses in East Cobb there is one common thread among each of those businesses and that has been the budget. What we, as small business entrepreneurs, often ignore is the old adage that "time is money". So while considering budget we must consider all resources and not only the mighty dollar. We also must include our personal time. When, therefore, we look at these business builders personal time will be as much a consideration as any other resource.

Learning curves can be a huge time thief. Personally I suffer from icandoit and it is chronic. When something comes up I head for the specialized tool store, whether that tool is education or steel matters not, and tackle the problem. Fortunately I have lived long enough now to know that there are times when picking up the phone or sending an online request for service is the smartest route. However, and with this in mind, here are some tips from one professional business owner to another.

Stay On Topic

Desperate times, they say, call for desperate measures. The last few years may have been rough for some and one way I have seen the frustration manifested is with "and now we offer" type business moves. I have seen pest control companies now offering home remodeling, day care centers now offering music lessons and real estate professionals now offering multi-level opportunities. Know what you do, do it well, keep your "also" business separate or risk diluting your purpose.

Keep It Simple and Pointed

We clean houses. I paint portraits. We buy gold. If you have ever watched one of those restaurant rescue shows they from time to time find a menu in a mom and pop with twelve pages of food. One of the first things the host does is taste them all then trims the menu down to about a dozen items. There are multiple reasons for this not the least of which is inventory for all those menu items. If you are in the service industry you probably have to stay up with the latest technology and trends. This is the reason doctors are becoming specialists and attorneys generally pick a range of services to offer.

Be Often

Say what? Be often seen. Be often heard. Be often responsive. Be often participating. The more you are seen, heard and accessible the more often you are going to do business. Remember you have only a certain number of hours in the day. Having attended many meet ups and business networking events I am sure there are people who specialize in nothing more than attending meet ups and networking events. To them I recommend narrowing that number unless they are paid by an employer to attend. For you and I this practice most likely wastes a lot of time we could be providing services.

Spend A Little

When it gets right down to it most of us are not web designers, brochure makers, video editors, Google experts, or copyright attorneys. Why is it then we will sit for hours on end trying to learn how to be something we are not? When it comes to marketing we seem to think there is nothing to it but and anyone can do it. Your first thought, probably, is "I cannot afford a professional and I can find the answer online." While part B may be true part A probably is not. 

Think about the time you will spend doing what you are not proficient in doing. Firstly the end result will likely lack elements of success a professional can bring to the picture. Secondly you will likely spend many more hours doing a simple task than a professional would doing a complex task. Hey, we've all seen your "custom emails" and they need a bit of tailoring! 

Ask For The Sale

Many years ago I sold a very expensive piece of diagnostic equipment. In the 1980s the price tag was over $100,000 and that was a tremendous amount of money. Other team members were selling two or three a month and, after six months, I had sold zero. Nilch.

My regional manager went on a presentation with me and the client was totally blown away with the equipment and my presentation. The RM sat quietly by and observed. As the demonstration was over and I began packing my demo unit into the customized van he walked over and whispered, "Are you going to let him at least tell you no?"

When I returned to the client I simply said, "Yours can be here as early as Monday. All we need to do is complete a little paperwork and I will get delivery scheduled." He bought one.

Empower Your Prospects

I "give away" eBooks on several topics (example). In these books is invested a good amount of time creating the content, creating beautiful custom graphics to make them appealing and information I could, and do, charge for. Why would I give all that information away? The answer is simple, really. I want to enrich the lives of my prospects and readers. Just like the instructions to build an aircraft can be found online people are not always going to be interested in doing it their self.

Let's suppose you are a landscaper. Why not create a series of videos showing your knowledge on grasses? Do you think just because you demonstrate the differences between types of fescue your prospects are going to suddenly stop calling you? No! What you just did was demonstrate your knowledge and give people a reason to trust you. This would be the same for a plumber who tells how to clear a clogged drain, a painter who demonstrates how to use painter's tape or an auto mechanic who explains the function of a MAP sensor.

What Are Your Ideas?

Go ahead and try it here. Share a little of your knowledge with others in the comments. Let us hear your ideas for business building. We are, after all, all in this together!